Pulling child out of primary school

[mama1987]

We have just recently moved house as we wanted somewhere bigger with space to grow. We have a 3 year old and will be trying for baby number 2 soon. Unfortunately we didn’t consider secondary education too much for reasons I now can’t fathom. Now I’m worrying, as looking at the nearest secondary it’s rated good by ofsted but doesn’t have the best reputation. I worry that we will have to move house again to be near good secondary schools. As we’ve only just moved we can’t move again, but I worry about pulling our little boy out of primary school in 4 years or so to attend a more local one once moved. It concerns me that we would be tearing him away from friends and he might struggle to settle. Am I worrying over nothing? What are other people’s experiences? In hindsight we would have bought a house with good proximity to both primary and secondary schools, but clearly can’t go back in time!

If he's three now, you don't need to worry about Secondary for five or six more years.
Schools can change a lot in that time.

I thought 4 years as an approximate time as by then we will hopefully have baby number 2 due to start primary so would make sense to move before then. Or else we would be pulling two settled kids out of primaries. Yes you’re right though, schools can change a lot in that time. Just kicking myself that we didn’t make a wiser decision about where we moved to in the first place!

I wouldn’t base what you do now, with a 3 year old, on secondary school. My catchment school was the better option when we moved here. By the time we needed to apply, we were hoping we’d get in to another school entirely. A new head, a new ethos...everything changes.

He's 3! Hes got a full 7 years of primary before secondary. Anything could happen before you need to apply for secondary. Outstanding schools can fail inspections and schools requiring improvement can become outstanding in that time.

You also dont know which which secondary would be a good fit for you child yet. Just relax, you dont need to worry about any of it for years yet.

I agree with @QueenofLouisiana
When we moved here DD was in Y4 and the 3 catchment secondary schools were all Outstanding. We chose the closest one. When she was in Y8 all 3 schools had Ofsted and hers was regraded inadequate. The other 2 went down to Good.

She’s in Y11 now and her school is currently Good, but has had 3 heads in 3 years.

You can’t see into the future.

There's thinking ahead and there's overthinking, op. With the best will in the world, I don't believe in mapping out your life to the nth degree. Life throws too many curve balls. You might get your ds all set up for an 'outstanding' secondary which then goes downhill over the next 7 or 8 years. I would go with the flow for now.

A teacher friend once said to me that it was the worst thing that could have happened when her school was upgraded from 'good' to 'outstanding'. Lots of extra pressure on staff to keep it there, at the expense of a happy atmosphere.

He's not even in school yet! A lot can change in 7 years.

All good points. We just seem quite limited really, there is only one secondary school within walking distance (and that’s a 30 minute walk!) so that’s our only option. Other schools are 2 miles away so wouldn’t qualify for bus pass but too far too walk 🤔

I agree with the other posters, schools can change as lot in that period. I wouldn't move again yet. However also, 2 miles isn't far, definitely not to far for a child at secondary school to do under their own steam! Get them a bike!

You’re thinking way to far ahead.

When my 12 year old was 3 our area had really poor secondary provision - 1 Catholic school; 1 boys state school with a bad reputation and 1 outstanding much sought after state secondary just out of catchment. Plus grammars (nigh on impossible to get into and miles away)

In the interim years:
Catholic school has a non-Catholic stream and improved reputation
Boys school went co-ed and got an amazing headteacher who turned around results
Outstanding free school was built right opposite our house
Sought after school expanded so we are now in catchment.

You can't make a judgement yet.

A healthy secondary pupil could walk 2miles, or cycle it.

@mama1987

All good points. We just seem quite limited really, there is only one secondary school within walking distance (and that’s a 30 minute walk!) so that’s our only option. Other schools are 2 miles away so wouldn’t qualify for bus pass but too far too walk 🤔

Er no - secondary school children can quite easily walk (or cycle) 2 miles or more. You're thinking about this from the point of view of currently having a 3 year old.

Agree with other posters. There is no point moving for a secondary school now. Keep an eye on local schools, but no point moving until Year 4 at earliest (if move is purely for school purposes).

@mama1987

All good points. We just seem quite limited really, there is only one secondary school within walking distance (and that’s a 30 minute walk!) so that’s our only option. Other schools are 2 miles away so wouldn’t qualify for bus pass but too far too walk 🤔

yes two miles is fine to walk. How far away actually is the 30-minute one op? An 11-12yo can walk two miles in not much more than 30 mins.

The whole educational system could be completely different in 7 years.
I would suggest being very involved with the primary school by joining the PTA. This can help create links with the wider community include local secondary schools. By having a good community 'spirit' means support etc can be given to the secondaries. Community/Parental support can sometimes mean things can be changed.

I would take Ofsted inspections with a slight pinch of salt. They aren't the true picture. There are outstanding schools who still haven't been fully inspected under the "new" system yet. I can think of one London-based school which was lasted inspected in 2009. There have been a couple of changes of heads since then. It was a loooong time ago in education terms but that's the inspection that parents will see on the school website.

Personally I think only the staff will REALLY know how good a school is and they will be careful what they say to others. Next best thing is parents who really understand the education & inspection system so can see through the sugar coating. But you'd have to speak to a few different parents, know the parents and family quite well (as you'll know how much importance they place on certain things eg most bothered about academic performance; most bothered about brillaint sporting facilities and teams; most bothered about their SEN offering, or their arts/drama offering. And more than a quick 5 min convo to get the best picture.

Schools seem to be offering different standards of teaching through COVID, too. Some secondaries seem to be offering more face to face online teaching than others. I think only 50% of teaching time in a subject has to be actual teaching with the teacher present, the rest can be work set for the pupils to work on. Some schools are taking advantage of this and doing the minimum face to face online teaching, others are doing every single lesson online and for very nearly the full lesson. I know which type of school I'd go for...

Basically, you need to do some proper digging. Get talking to parents who have put their older children through the school.

Interesting to hear your thoughts about walking distance of 2 miles being fine - perhaps I’ve become a bit lazy in the years I’ve been driving. It would take 45 mins to walk - does that seem reasonable?

Would be great if another secondary school was built in the interim though, that must have been fab! Sorry I don’t know how to mention posters, I’m new here!

45 min walk is ok but that's a very slow walk if it really is two miles. Three miles an hour is a relaxed pace, a brisk walk by a healthy pre teen or teen would be 3-4 miles in an hour.

Clary I just checked google maps - that’s the time it stated 🤷🏼‍♀️

My children walk home from school (in normal times) about once a week- 2 miles up hill. They are 7&9. I would expect them to do it easily each at Secondary (unless they had big equipment to carry). The major obstacle to doing it more often is I need to walk there to pick them up as well...

My son is in his first year of secondary and he has a 35-40 min walk or can do it on his scooter in about 20 mins.

I know it's hard to imagine when you have a toddler but it's really not a big deal for a 11/12 year old. Presumably there are secondary aged kids in the area you live in so that's probably what they do.

It might put your mind at ease to see if your local primaries are feeder schools for any secondaries.

I have no idea what pace Google Maps assumes. How far is it? I am old and short but I walk a lot faster than 2.5 miles an hour.

The local school is 1.3 miles away, I’m not sure if google maps is correct in saying 30 mins then?

Thanks everyone for all your comments. It’s given me food for thought!

Honestly, don't worry about it yet. When my DD was 4, we moved to a lovely town, after lots of careful research. We knew there were two excellent secondary schools in the town, with similar results and glowing reviews. We installed DD in a (very nice) tiny primary school, sat back and patted ourselves on the back at how clever we'd been. Fast forward 6 years, both secondaries had gone down the toilet, results had plummeted, and one even ended up in the national press after a particularly unpleasant 'bullying' (read: serious assault) video went viral.
We ended up moving between Yr5 and Yr6 - we only went half an hour down the road so DD didn't have to move schools for Yr6. She's now at an excellent secondary a short bus ride from our house, (4 miles), takes no more than 20 minutes. 2 miles for secondary is nothing! Obviously you need to keep a close eye on all your secondary options while your DC are at primary, but things can change so quickly, it's not worth getting hung up on it, (or complacent, like we were!).